Camp Gen. Artemio Ricarte, Puerto Princesa City -- "Pen is mightier than the sword," so goes an old cliche. To enhance their skills in writing, military public affairs officers participated in a one-day comprehensive journalism enhancement seminar organized by the Alyansa ng Palawenyong Mamamahayag Inc. (APAMAI) and Focolare Movement at the Victoriano J. Rodriguez Hall, Capitol Complex, Puerto Princesa City Oct. 20. Apamai is the media organization Palawan Press Club while Focolare is an international organization that promotes the ideals of unity and universal brotherhood.

The seminar-workshop covered advanced story writing and caption-writing skills discussed by Jose Aranas, editor in chief of New City Magazine. Aranas shared best practices in media coverage and taught new, more efficient ways to write responsible journalism.

"We are glad military PAOs were also in this event that was designed for media practitioners. They were very attentive, very eager, and very professional," Aranas said, referring to the soldiers attending the workshop. "I was incredibly impressed with them. I learned that they were exposed to similar training through their various programs, but the interaction between the soldiers and the local media is always nice to have."

Apamai president Ed Javarez, concurrent program director of RGMA Super Radyo Palawan, said the seminar was concluded with mutual respect and a bond that exists in the people connected to the multi-media.

Topics included interviewing, news writing, photojournalism, public relations, and multimedia. It aimed to teach creative and efficient ways to communicate through press releases, newspapers, magazines, and broadcasts, Javarez said.